312 
THE GARDEN MAGAZINE 
July, 1917 
transplanting them from the seed bed as 
soon as they are large enough. If plants were 
not started in anticipation they may be ob- 
tained, usually at a very low price, from a 
market gardener, or got from a .neighbor. 
Don’t make the mistake, which many begin- 
ners do, of thinking that you must have 
a late variety because it is wanted for late use 
— quite the contrary an early variety is better 
because it matures sooner. For the home gar- 
den the medium earlier, smaller sorts are 
more satisfactory in every way. Volga, 
All-head Early, and Danish Bailhead are 
good sorts. They can be planted much closer 
than the large spreading late varieties such as 
Autumn Giant or Worldbeater, are more 
certain to make good solid heads, and much 
more convenient to store and to use. 
The ‘ ‘savoy” type, is however the finest 
flavored of all. Put out a generous supply 
of Brussels sprouts and kale. Both are per- 
fectly hardy, and you can continue to use 
them right out of your garden as long as 
they last, even if you have to wade through 
the snow to get them for your Christmas 
dinner! 
When setting out your celery plants, keep 
in mind that they are about the hungriest 
of any plants that grow, and for good crisp 
fat stalks, such as you will be proud to have 
on the table for Thanksgiving, you must feed 
them bountifully. Even if the soil where 
they are to be put was well manured and en- 
riched in the spring, give extra fertilizing in 
the furrows before setting the plants, in the 
form of bone dust and hen manure or sheep 
manure, and a little sprinkling of nitrate of 
soda, of course mixing these thoroughly 
with the soil before setting the plants, which 
should be pretty severely trimmed back before 
planting. Flood the trench full of water and 
let it soak away a couple of times just before 
planting if the soil is dry; celery is one of the 
water-loving vegetables, and can hardly 
be given too much on a well-drained soil. Set 
the little plants very firmly, about six inches 
apart, being careful not to get any soil over the 
centres or crowns, where the new leaves are 
pushing up. If a few old boards are available 
they may readily be placed on edge along the 
row, at a slight angle, and supported by small 
stakes, to shade the newly set plants for a few 
days; this will aid materially in getting them 
started. 
don’t crowd out next year’s flowers 
\X7^HILE we are all, rightly, interested in 
* * growing as many vegetables as possible 
this year, there is no occasion to neglect de- 
voting the little time and space necessary 
for starting a generous supply of flowers for 
next year. A single frame, three by six feet, 
or an equivalent space in some sheltered spot, 
free from the “drip” of any building or tree, 
but where it can be shaded from the hot sun 
is enough to start all the seedlings any ordin- 
ary garden is likely to require. Let the 
soil for this little seedbed be the finest and 
spongiest you can get. Old compost from a 
hotbed or coldframe, carefully sifted is excel- 
lent; or you can mix humus and a little sand, 
and get an excellent surface soil for sowing 
the finest of seeds, which is clean and free 
from weed Seeds and disease germs. 
Pansies, English Daisies (Beilis perennis), 
Forget-me-not and a long list of the hardy 
perennials, such as Columbines, Pinks, Sweet 
Williams, Foxglove, etc., etc., are available 
for starting now. A dollar’s worth of seed 
will give you all the plants you are likely to 
be able to find room for — and plenty to give 
away besides! Prepare the seed bed care- 
fully, and water it down thoroughly, so that 
it is soaked through and through, and as soon 
as it is dry enough plant, barely covering from 
sight the smaller seeds. Newspapers or sphag- 
num moss laid over the surface for a few days 
after planting will help to keep the soil moist 
and cool immediately about the seeds, but 
careful watch must be kept so that the covers 
are removed immediately on the first sign of 
germination. To get good sturdy plants for 
transplanting in the fall, either transplant or 
thin out the little seedlings just as soon as 
they are large enough; otherwise they will very 
soon begin to crowd, and be permanently 
weakened. 
cutting out old wood may be filled up; and 
the new growth may be guided to make an 
even and symmetrical plant. But do not 
go to the opposite extreme and prune and 
head in until all the natural beauty and grace 
of the shrub has been lost, and you have but 
a stiff, ugly “specimen” that is about as at- 
tractive as a rag-wound thumb at a card 
party. As a general rule for the decorative 
and flowering shrubs, the less pruning the 
better, so long as old or injured wood is re- 
moved, wandering growths are made to 
conform to the plant’s general contour, and 
too much crowding at the centre is prevented. 
STRAWBERRIES AND CREAM — GET READY NOW! 
KEEP AFTER THE BUGS AND BLIGHTS! 
MATTER how good a grower a gar= 
~ dener may be, unless he is also a good 
fighter he is likely to see much of the results 
of his labor go for naught at this time of the 
year as a result of the annual invasion of in- 
sects and plant diseases. You must both be 
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DO THIS MONTH 
Keep on cultivating. 
Plant root crops for winter use. 
Transplant for fall and winter. 
Make first sowing of perennials and bien- 
nials for winter use. 
Keep after the bugs and blights. 
Prune Rambler Roses after flowering. 
Prune early-flowering shrubs after flowering. 
Keep the lawn in condition for dry weather. 
Get ready for the new strawberry bed. 
Plant for canning, drying and preserving. 
Undertake new improvements. 
Send on your bulb order. 
Send on your order for evergreens. 
Do a little visiting * round. 
Join your local Garden Club. 
^ The southern gardener will read the spec - 
> ial article on another page. 
on the watch for troubles of this kind, so as to 
be able to detect them at the very earliest mo- 
ment, and ready to act, so that you can do 
whatever should be done to combat or pre- 
vent them, at once. That, “in a nutshell,” is 
the secret of being able to protect your plants. 
Elsewhere in this issue detailed information 
about bugs, diseases, worms, sprayers, sprays, 
and powders is given. Don’t wait untd the 
trouble is upon your head; get busy now, pro- 
vide yourself with the things you are likely to 
need, and make yourself familiar with how to 
use them. Get busy — now! 
PRUNE RAMBLERS AND EARLY FLOWERING 
SHRUBS NOW 
A S SOON as the flower-clusters have gone 
by on the hardy Ramblers and other 
similar late-flowering Roses is the best time to 
prune them. The fading flower clusters are 
no ornament; and one can see now, better than 
at any time later, what wood it will be best 
to cut away, and how the plant should be de- 
veloped for another season’s bloom, the 
growth for which will be made this year. The 
older canes, which have ceased to flower freely, 
should be cut away back to or near the ground, 
and removed to make room for new growth, 
which will quickly take its place. If this is 
done now, the plant will be as graceful and 
symmetrical as ever for next season; but 
if it is left until fall or spring a very un- 
attractive looking plant is pretty sure to 
be the result. 
1 he shrubs which have flowered during 
spring and early summer are now making 
their new growth, on which next year’s flower 
buds will be developed before winter. They 
must be pruned now, so that any “holes” left by 
f I 'HE old saying that “all things come to 
him who waits” surely was not meant 
to apply to the man who waits for a straw- 
berry bed; for if you would have berries next 
June, you must begin to get busy now — (and 
that will be getting them in shorter time than 
most people do). Potted plants set out this 
month or early next month will bear a full 
crop of the very biggest berries they are capa- 
ble of producing next June, if they are given 
the proper attention. The first step is to have 
the soil rich and in good shape (The plants 
can be bought, if you are not growing your 
own, as suggested in last month’s reminder). 
Avoid soil that has been in sod within a year, 
as it is likely to be infested with white grubs — 
the larvae of the “June bugs” — which are one 
of the strawberry’s worst enemies, frequently 
ruining new plantings. Select a place where 
the strawberry rows will not be in the way of 
your other garden operations, if possible; but 
they must have good rich soil to do well. 
Spade it up and manure or fertilize it now, 
even though you will not be ready to plant 
for a few weeks yet; this will get rid of one 
crop of weeds, save the moisture in the soil, 
and enable the plants to get a quicker start 
when you do put them in. 
CONSERVATION IN THE WAR GARDEN 
fJAVE you made provision to utilize every- 
"*■ thing that your garden produces this sum- 
mer and fall? If not, your war garden, no 
matter how carefully cultivated, is not a com- 
plete success. Down to the last ounce, all 
the food produced should be used. Cans and 
jars will be scarce this year, if obtainable 
at all. Have you made yourself familiar with 
the processes of drying or evaporating, or “de- 
hydrating?” Many vegetables and most 
fruits can be kept as well this way as by can- 
ning, and with much less work. Look into 
these things, and plan ahead, so that nothing 
will go to waste. Not only that, see to it 
that some organized effort is made, in your 
town or city, to look after this same problem 
in connection with the hundreds of new gar- 
dens there are there. Next month The 
Garden Magazine will have some sugges- 
tions for the carrying out of thus work. 
Watch for them; or if you want to get started 
at once, write to our Readers’ Service Depart- 
ment for advance information. 
ARE YOUR BULB AND SHRUB ORDERS READY? 
T> EMEMBER that the war won’t last 
forever. Plant evergreens this fall if 
you had been intending to; and also bulbs 
for spring bloom. These are among the 
things that haven’t gone up in price — in fact, 
you are pretty sure to get better value than 
usual, as the demand is likely to be light. 
Profit by the “psychological condition” and 
get in your own order in good season. 
